This application is based on and claims the priorities under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of German Patent Application 101 29 905.2, filed on Jun. 21, 2001, and 101 27 479.3, filed on Jun. 7, 2001, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to an apparatus for receiving, intermediately storing, and then compacting a mixed waste in liquid, pasty, and/or solid form, which is accumulated and needs to be disposed of during food service catering and other passenger services in passenger transport aircraft, buses, railroad trains, and ships.
In carrying out the food service catering and other passenger services of the passengers in aircraft, ships, trains and other passenger transport vehicles, a diverse mixture of various waste materials or trash is accumulated. Such waste or trash, called passenger service waste herein, includes, for example: left-over portions of beverages and meals; food waste and particularly organic rest materials such as fruit skins and cores, bones, inedible or left-over portions of foodstuffs, coffee grounds, tea bags and the like; non-consumable items such as packaging materials like beverage cartons, cans, and bottles, single use cutlery, and the like; and cleaning aids such as napkins, wiping towelettes, etc.
It is apparent that the overall mixed waste materials contain solid components as well as liquid components in variable proportions and variable compositions. The liquid or semi-liquid components may also contain various chemical compositions, including water-based liquids, alcohol, fats and oils. Generally, the waste materials or trash are coarsely separated into solid waste and liquid waste as the materials are being collected from the passengers. Then, the solid wastes and the liquid wastes are separately directly disposed of, namely the solid wastes are placed directly into solid waste disposal containers, and the liquid wastes are placed directly into liquid waste disposal containers. Separating the waste between solid and liquid in this manner requires extra efforts by the flight attendants or other passenger service personnel, and does not achieve a very thorough separation of liquids from solids, in any event. The disposal process is messy, cumbersome, and time-consuming.
In various different contexts and applications, for example in the food service industry, it is known to use so-called trash compactors for compacting and thereby reducing the storage and disposal volume of various waste materials.
In view of the above, it is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus by which the collection and disposal of mixed waste materials or trash in connection with the catering and other passenger service of passengers in passenger transport vehicles can be simplified for the passenger service personnel. It is a further particular object of the invention to provide an apparatus for compacting or compressing the mixed waste while draining any liquids being pressed out of the waste, so that the mixed waste may be collected without being separated and may be directly disposed of into the trash compactor apparatus in a mixed state including solids and liquids. It is another object of the invention to provide for the separation of oils and fats from non-oily liquids, and other substances dissolved in the liquid waste, and then disposing of the liquid waste in a liquid waste disposal system of the passenger transport vehicle. The invention further aims to avoid or overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, and to achieve additional advantages, as apparent from the present specification.
The above objects have been achieved according to the invention in an apparatus for compacting and draining mixed waste materials in a passenger transport vehicle, comprising a trash compactor including a pressure piston and a compactor press arrangement, a control unit, and a waste receiving container with a drain and coupling system. The mixed waste collected from passengers in the transport vehicle, including both solid and liquid wastes, is placed into the waste receiving container where it is temporarily stored and accumulated. When the receiving container reaches a preset fill level, or when activated by service personnel, the pressure piston of the trash compactor presses the compactor press arrangement against the waste in the receiving container, so as to compact or compress the waste under the effect of mechanical pressure in one or more directions. During the compaction of the waste, liquid waste components are squeezed out of the solid waste components and drain downwardly through and from the waste under the effect of gravity. The drain and coupling system allows the liquid waste components to be removed, and drained away or disposed of.
A filter unit especially in the form of a filter plate is preferably arranged near the bottom of the receiving container, to allow the solid waste to be pressed or compacted thereagainst, while filtering the liquid waste components downwardly through a filter element thereof, to then be removed through the drain and coupling system. The filter unit may further include, or the apparatus may further comprise, a separator element for separating oils, fats, or other dissolved substances out of the pressed liquids. The drain and coupling system may be selectively connected to a gray water drain line or to a vacuum disposal system of the passenger transport vehicle.
The gray water drain line is a pipe or conduit through which gray water is drained and disposed of from the passenger transport vehicle, for example being simply discharged to the environment outside of the vehicle. Gray water is the used water that drains from the drinking water system, and from wash basins or the like, whereby this gray water is only slightly soiled or loaded with waste, for example with soaps, detergents, soil from hand washing and the like, but does not include contaminants such as septic wastes (feces, etc.). The gray water is one component of the overall waste water, which is water contaminated with all manner of wastes, residues, septic waste materials (e.g. urine and feces), etc.
Passenger transport vehicles such as aircraft and ships are typically equipped with a gray water system and a waste water system for collecting, storing and ultimately disposing of the gray water and the other waste water. For example, such passenger transport vehicles are often typically equipped with a vacuum disposal system that applies a vacuum to suck the waste water from toilets or the like into an on-board waste water storage tank. The suction is generated, either by the pressure difference between the pressurized cabin and the reduced pressure outside of an aircraft at high flight altitudes, or by a vacuum generator at ground level or at low flight altitudes.
A flush valve is typically provided to close off the inlet of the vacuum disposal system, for example in a toilet or the like, or the gray water drain line relative to the cabin, until a drain and flushing process is initiated, whereupon the flush valve opens to vacuum-dispose or drain the respective waste water.
The waste receiving container of the present inventive apparatus is preferably arranged in or below a waste disposal shaft or chute into which the waste material may be conveniently dropped. The compactor press arrangement especially includes flap doors that pivot downwardly to open from the waste disposal shaft into the waste receiving container. When these flap doors are pivoted upwardly, they are locked or braced in a fixed manner in a horizontal closed position, to act as a press platen which is then pressed downwardly onto the accumulated waste material by the pressure piston(s) of the compactor arrangement so as to compact the accumulated waste material in the receiving container. The receiving container may be supported by strong compacting chamber walls, to withstand the compacting forces. The waste disposal shaft always remains accessible and ready to receive waste being disposed therein, even while a compacting cycle is being carried out. The apparatus thus operates very efficiently, does not disrupt or hinder the service personnel from carrying out the ordinary waste collection and disposal, and does not require waiting periods in the waste collection and disposal process, even though it operates in a batch compacting manner.
The invention achieves at least the following advantages.
A separate collection and disposal of liquid and solid waste materials or trash is no longer necessary, thereby simplifying the waste collection process for the service personnel.
The liquid components and other materials dissolved in the liquid components are removed very effectively from the solid components by means of pressing, filtering and/or sorption. The liquid components can be conveniently disposed of through the vacuum disposal system or the gray water drain line that are already provided in the passenger transport vehicle. In the event a vacuum disposal system is not available, or fails, the present inventive apparatus can continue to be used fully effectively through the connection to the gray water drain line.
The connections to the vacuum disposal system or the gray water drain line may alternatively be carried out through a standpipe or riser pipe without drip protection, or a ground connection with drip protection.
Compression or compaction of the solid waste materials results in a reduction of the volume thereof, and simultaneously effectively removes the liquid components.
Depending on the waste mixture that is intended to be collected and received, a filter element having different filtering characteristics can be correspondingly provided, for example, for filtering out sugars, coloring agents, etc. Moreover, oils and fat can be separated out of the liquid component of the waste, to avoid clogging or contamination of the gray water drain line or the vacuum disposal system by the accumulation of such oils and fats.
The positive separation of the receiving container from the vacuum disposal system and the gray water drain line by associated valves, assures that bacteria, fungi, and various germs that arise in the vacuum disposal system will be positively kept out of the trash compacting apparatus.
Since the trash or waste material is compacted in a replaceable or exchangeable receiving container, the disposal of the solid waste component compacted into this container is fast and simple, by the rapid exchange of the full receiving container by a new empty receiving container. This rapid exchangeability of the receiving container is especially facilitated by a quick connector element between the drain outlet of the receiving container and the vacuum disposal system or the gray water drain line. The quick connector may be any commercially available quick connector suitable for this purpose.
The filter element further provides protection against the introduction of solid waste or other solid materials into the vacuum disposal system or the gray water drain line, which could lead to plugging or damage of this system.
The loading flap doors of the disposal apparatus are configured and embodied in such a manner, that all waste materials are simply placed into the disposal shaft and from there they pass entirely and exclusively into the waste collecting and receiving container.
Due to the volume reduction of the waste material and the removal of the liquid component into the vacuum disposal system, the waste disposal load is reduced, thereby achieving an environmentally friendly waste disposal system.
The operation of the apparatus is very simple or can be entirely automated through the use of corresponding flush valves and a control unit for controlling and monitoring the sequential progression of all functions. The control unit is connected to the waste compactor press by a control signal conductor, to control the operation of the waste compactor press.
Convenient cleaning of the compactor arrangement can be achieved by providing an access port for a cleaning tool such as a flushing spray wand or a cleaning brush or scraper or the like into the apparatus through the drain and coupling system.